I’ve had some interesting conversations over the last couple of weeks – three heads of civic engagement organizations, one retired bureaucrat, and a high-ranking bureaucrat.

All the civic organizations actively supported ZenCitizen. A couple even offered their resources, including office space. The retired bureaucrat was lukewarm about the outcome but still encouraged me to give it a try.

The high-ranking bureaucrat however…

…was outright dismissive. He insisted officials would always find reasons to reject them and that Sakala wouldn’t help. I told him I also suspect the initiative won’t work, which is why I refer to it as an “experiment”; that while I appreciate that he can confidently predict the movie’s ending based on his experience, I still want to watch the movie.

“Why should I waste my time helping you?” he countered. I replied that it wouldn’t cost him anything; I just needed someone in the department to answer a few straightforward questions, like where to find the link to convert Khata to eKhata.

I must’ve caught him on a bad day because his response was, “I can’t help your incompetence in finding that link.” Honestly, I found the whole exchange amusing. I was not able to take offense – he came across as an honest official who had turned utterly cynical about the system, or maybe he was just tired. I joked, “Well, that’s good for my ego – it needs a beating now and then.”

He googled the link on his phone, triumphantly showing me the top result – to apply for a new Khata or transfer Khata (not eKhata)—a process for which I’ve already written a detailed guide. When I clarified I had been asking about converting Khata to eKhata, he pointed to bbmpeaasthi.karnataka.gov.in. I have been aware of this site for some time now, and last I checked, on that very morning, there was no information on Khata to eKhata process. He explained the link for eKhata had been activated less than two hours ago.

I stepped out, tried, and still couldn’t locate it. Eventually, I navigated several non-intuitive screens to reach the application page.

This was yesterday. As of today, the eKhata link has disappeared from the bbmpeaasthi.karnataka.gov.in website. Meanwhile, on the bbmpkhata.karnataka.gov.in site, the public can no longer apply for new or transferred Khata, as eKhata is now mandatory – but that feature isn’t even available yet.

I’m not bothered by the bureaucrat’s dismissiveness or the breakdowns on BBMP’s websites. This is exactly why we need ZenCitizen.

Update: The eKhata link is now back up again.